Open call for Retailers: EIT Food “RIS Straight to Market” Programme

The RIS Straight to Market is coordinated by EIT Food South and seeks connect retailers with small and medium-sized companies, startups and scale-ups, to bring to mainstream markets and supermarkets food products that are new or highly improved at a nutritional/sustainable level.

The goal of the programme is to address EU policy priorities through R&I, and increasing the number of consumers using products developed with the support of EIT Food to personalise or change diet in line with relevant Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for Europe, by bringing to mainstream markets and supermarkets food products that are new or highly improved at a nutritional/sustainable level, in alignment with EIT Food’s Impact Framework regarding new food products.

Each selected retailer will be able to work with a maximum of 4 European startups. A consortium established by one retailer and one start-up will be named “Project” hereinafter. Each Project is expected to test and launch in the market at least 1 new food product.

EIT Food Goal

• Reduction in relative risk (R) of obesity & Non Communicable Disease (NCD) prevalence in target populations due to known dietary factors.
• Products on the market derived from alternative sources.
• Reduction in food waste & food loss.
• Improvement in food system contribution to outcomes under EU Circular Economy Monitoring Framework.
• Improved environmental impact of agrifood systems.

Funding Information

• There is an upper limit of total eligible costs of 21.400 EUR per Project and retailer (85.600€ yearly in case the retailer works with 4 startups).
• EIT Food will allocate a maximum of 15.000 EUR per Project to each retailer.
• In total, a retailer will have a maximum net funding of 180.000 EUR for the period 2023-2025. Maximum amount of this call for retailers is 360.000 EUR for the period 2023-2025.

Benefits for Retailers

• Grant for action. EIT Food facilitates the execution of innovation projects by providing liquidity to a company. 70% of the EIT Funding is required to be returned or paid back when there is a stable growth/success;
• Additional funding opportunities for upcoming projects;
• Opportunity to market innovative food product based on retailer’s preferred segmentation;
• Opportunity to anticipate market trends by marketing innovative product;
• EIT Food takes care of the contract and agreements with other participants of the programme;
• EIT Food covers all regulatory aspects that are related to the project;
• Project dissemination/visibility/promotion to increase market penetration;
• Support market testing and improve access to consumers/end-customers and facilitated co-creation;
• Connect new food product developers with high-profile (multinational) food companies;
• Shaping/influencing market access regulation or market incentives through lobbying/agenda setting;
• Facilitate networking amongst industry players;
• Improve visibility for innovations and upcoming companies/organizations;
• Stamp of trust/excellence; may help consumer acceptance, open doors, gather scale-up financing.

Duration

• The RIS S2M programme will have its activities starting in May 2023 and ending in December 2025. Yearly open processes will be available to select new pools of startups to participate. Participation of retailers will last from 2023 to 2025 linked to yearly performance and evaluation of results.
• All activities of the 2023 Project have to be finished and delivered by December 1st 2023, with exception of product market introduction, expected to be delivered by June 2024. With similar dates replicable for coming years 2024 and 2025.

Eligible Countries

• EU Member States: Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain
• Horizon Europe Associated Countries: Turkey
• Outermost Regions: Azores and Madeira (Portugal), and the Canary Islands (Spain)

Who can apply?

• Funding for this call is available to all organisations, both EIT Food partners and non-partners.
• Applications will be accepted from organizations having the status of legal persons and operating as retailers, supermarkets, convenience stores, delicatessen stores or hypermarkets, physically and online.
• Each selected retailer will work with a maximum of 4 startups/Projects per year. EIT Food reserves the right to reduce or increase the number of startups participating together with each retailer.
• Members of a consortium do not need to demonstrate to EIT Food that they have formalized their mutual relations (i.e. no formal consortium agreement is required as part of application). EIT Food recommends members to agree on the distribution of Project-related responsibilities and modalities for their cooperation, which will be confirmed by an internal consortium agreement, supplementing the Project agreement signed by each organisation with EIT Food.
• Members of consortium will need to have working relations and will be required to jointly work on the preparation and implementation of the activities.
• The RIS Straight2Market is opened to all retailers wanting to participate in the programme.
• Retailers can apply jointly with startups, so as long as each organization delivers the respective required documentation for approval.
• Joint applications will be positively assessed but do not guarantee the selection of participants.
• Proposals that include the participation of Academia actors (Universities, Research Centres, etc) will be positively assessed.
• Retailers must be a legally incorporated entity in one of the EU or Horizon Europe eligible country for a minimum of 3 years.

For more information, visit EIT Food.